Winter's Chill
by Ghilasmelana
Summary: When the Inquisitor leaves for the frost gripped Emprise du Lion Cullen decides a little warm welcome might be just what she needs. Cullen/Female mage Inquisitor. Romance and fluff in the Skyhold. Cullen's POV


Cullen wanted to do something for the Inquisitor for weeks now. He deeply admired her discipline, dedication, strength and devotion to the Chantry, but noticed that it became harder and harder on her to lead the Inquisition as well as combat the Rifts and the other threats. She usually arrived at their council meetings with deep circles under the eyes and her already pale complexion looked almost translucent.

At first, he thought nothing of it, he just attributed the change to the rising stress. He too had to deal with more duties as more and more soldiers started to arrive, and more and more regions of the world became dependent on the Inquisition's support. But her symptoms did not lessen, and he started to worry.

It was on one of the especially cold days when the skies were over casted with thick and grey clouds and wind was howling through every crevice of the ancient fortress that the revelation of what might have been amiss finally dawned on him.

They were to meet in the council room at the break of dawn since Leliana insisted that they went over the details of their excursion to Emprise du Lion before the whole entourage left the fortress. Cullen was already awake since the sleep seemed to elude him as of late. His lyrium depraved nightmares were getting harder to sleep through. And so, to pass the time before the meeting he brewed a large mug of hot and strong tea and just in his fur coat and thick gloves set out to tour the ramparts.

At this hour the Skyhold was empty safe for the few of the soldiers assigned to the guard duty. They huddled around the coals burning in the metal baskets and kept looking at the horizon in a vain hope of spotting the green lining of coming dawn. Cullen could not blame them for their wistful thoughts. It was particularly freezing today. He gave his men a few brief nods in a greeting and continued his walk.

It was then that he noticed the Inquisitor. She was up much earlier than he had thought, and she was huddled in a thick coat, shivering and clearly miserable. Since no one was around, Cullen drew on his courage and walked down the few steps which divided the ramparts and the courtyard below. He wanted to greet her, and it seemed there wouldn't be a better opportunity than now.

"Inquisitor." Cullen cleared his throat and offered a polite smile when she turned hastily, clearly startled by his voice.

"Oh Commander. Good morning." She replied, and he thought for a moment that the gloomy expression of her face lit up a bit at the sight of him. _Or perhaps it was his wistful thinking._

"You are up early." Cullen stated and wanted to kick himself for stating the obvious. Why was it that when a woman was talking with him his mind was going blank?

"Ah yes. I wanted to request some hot water from Herald's Rest, but the inn is still closed." She smiled and drew the coat closer around her shoulders. "It seems I was too early. Or they stayed up too late."

"Hot water?" Cullen replied a bit confused. Why would she need that in the crack of dawn?

"Well yes. I wanted to freshen up a bit before we have to leave…I tried to warm it in my room, but the fireplace is just not big enough."

"Oh." Cullen finally understood her predicament. And he distinctly remembered telling Leliana that the top room was not fit for anyone to live in. Yes, it was spacious and commanded respect, but it had windows fitted into almost all walls and only one fireplace and with the winter upon them must have felt like an ice cube frost trap.

"I think I can understand the problem." He finally replied. Though true to his nature his mind was already going through possible solutions. He just couldn't leave problems unresolved.

"I must admit the weather in Skyhold is much harsher than what I was used to." The Inquisitor continued, clearly happy to have someone to talk to about this. And Cullen realized that she looked a bit lonely. Naturally, she was surrounded by people almost constantly but were they really people she could talk to about non-essential matters? She probably missed her friends from the Circle.

 _The Circle. Of course._

She was from Ostwick and nobility as far as he was informed. That meant cozy quarters, shielded environment and not a worry in the world. And now she had been thrown into this large fortress full of people in the grip of the winter. No wonder she had been so stressed lately.

"Yes, this place is quite cold." Cullen replied and then realized he was still holding his large, steaming mug of untouched tea. "Here, this should warm you up a bit at least." He smiled and fought his voice to overcome the nervous stutter as he gently took her hands and pressed the warm cup between them. "It should help." He added, his throat a bit tight by this new-found boldness.

"I…thank you, Commander." The Inquisitor replied a bit shyly but the smile she gave him made Cullen almost weak in his knees.

"No need really." He smiled back a bit nervously. "Since you cannot heat up the water, you are more than free to use the soldier facilities. It should be fairly empty at this time. We do not have exactly warm showers, but the place is a bit better than nothing and you can heat up enough to fill the water basin." Cullen added.

He could see a shiver spread through Inquisitor's body at the suggestion of the cold shower in the barracks, but she agreed and after a few moments of awkward silence left in that direction while Cullen was left with idle thoughts.

Well this proved to be the beginning of his labor as he couldn't banish the image of her out of his head. He was used to discomfort, camping in the wet and cold lands, sleeping in furs and shivering at night. But he was damn sure he would not let her be used to the hardships of such life. Not if he could help it at least in some small way.

And so, after the Inner circle of the Inquisition left to pursue their leads in Emprise du Lion – a place gripped by the unnatural frost and ice – Cullen set out to talk to Dagna and Master Harritt. He had a plan and before he started to realize his vision, he needed to make sure it was not completely futile.

"So, what you are looking for is a plumbing?" Harritt asked straightforwardly and looked at Cullen with arched eyebrows. "I mean…Commander." He added offhandedly.

"Well yes. I have gone through the underground corridors of Skyhold and there is a part which could be converted into the bath. I will do the stonework in my own time, but I will need a bit of a help with the plumbing, I can hardly make that myself." Cullen replied and tried to sound as casual as he could in this situation.

"Hmf…well I suppose we could work on that. I mean we have some downtime between the repairs since we are waiting for the new supplies of stone to arrive and I have some spare wooden beams and metal to secure the pipeline." Harritt scratched his bald head and moved over to his worktable. After a moment he fished out relatively clean sheet of parchment and started to make some calculations. "I will need to see the place though, to measure it and such." He added, and Cullen nodded politely.

"Of course."

All the while Dagna was listening in silence, her hands busy with the work on the suit of armor that Cassandra requested. It was a beautiful craftsmanship work and now almost sparkled while Dagna worked on the last enchantments.

"I could make you a water heater you know." She chipped in finally, not even lifting her head from her work.

"You could?" Cullen asked in a surprise.

"Naturally. In Orzammar we drew on the hot springs under the city to heat up the water, but I have made some adjustments to the containers we used and tried it out in the last Circle I studied at. It worked like a charm." The dwarf turned finally and smiled. "Well in a sense it works because of the charms." She giggled.

Cullen was unsure how to reply so he only nodded.

"Just give me a week or two and I will have that thing ready. It will provide as much hot water as needed." She finished while she turned back to the armor and slammed the last empty rune socket full of blue glowing rune.

"There." Dagna exclaimed happily. "You can tell Lady Seeker that her armor is finished. I'm sure she will want to test it."

"She is not here at the moment." Cullen replied and moved over to get the better look at the armor. Suddenly his own seemed a bit shabby.

"Hmm do you think you could…"

But before he could finish Dagna was already at his side and looked over him with critical eyes.

"Ah yes. I will make something for you too." She walked around him in a small circle and mumbled something for herself as she tugged at a few leather straps then knocked on the plates with her knuckles.

"Erm…don't take this the wrong way Commander but…the new armor…It will come without the fur rag." She added finally.

"That is more than alright. It was Cassandra's idea anyway." Cullen shifted in embarrassment. He hated that fur addition but was too cowardly to admit it in front of Cassandra, so he wore it. But if the new armor meant no fur, he was more than happy.

"Splendid. I will make sure it comes with a nice enchanted cloak though." Dagna smiled. "Hmm perhaps garnet red cloak would fit it better." She mused as she moved over to her drawing board and was lost in thoughts.

"Thank you." Cullen added but was unsure the genius dwarf could hear him. He nodded his thanks to Harritt too and left the Undercroft to go and clear the rubble from the cellar he chose for his project.

Two weeks have rolled over in a blink of an eye. At least Cullen felt like they did. His days were full of reports and sending troops to all the corners of Thedas while he had to oversee the training of the new recruits which seemed to pour into Skyhold without end. And his evenings and nights were spent drenched in sweat while he worked on the stonework of the underground bath. He was almost done though.

If there was something, he was glad for then it was the work they put him through during his Templar training when he and the others among the young templars had to regularly lend a hand in fixing the Kinloch hold be it from the inside or outside. As such he was no stranger to the work with tools and to hauling boulders and stone bricks. All that was left to do was to install the contraption Dagna made and of course wait for the Inquisitor to return.

The rolling clouds which held the grip on Skyhold and Frostback Mountains turned from steely grey to almost black and the wind started howling with renewed force. The river below the fortress froze overnight and thick snowflakes fell all around making it almost impossible to see anything more than one meter ahead. In less than a day the fortress and the roads were covered in a thick blanket of snow and the whole world was thrown into the silence of the winter interrupted with nothing more than the muffled steps of the soldiers crunching in the snow.

Cullen began to worry. The Inner Circle and the Inquisitor were supposed to be back two days ago. He could understand the delay considering the weather shift, but they did not even send a message ahead by one of Leliana's birds. With everything ready Cullen took to stride along the ramparts during the evenings, sick with worry. Until now he did not realize how deep the Inquisitor had weaseled herself into his heart. He missed her.

He missed seeing her during their council meetings in the morning. He missed he laugh when Varric and Sera accompanied her during the lunchtime. He missed their sporadic games of chess. But more than anything he missed her little visits. It had seemed that she had always found some time to stop by his office to ask about his day, his past or to seek some advice.

It was then when he reached the dead-end side of the ramparts and turned to walk back where he came from when the sounding horn blasted through the silence of the night and the torches were set alight above the gate. The Inquisitor was returning home at last.

"I already told you Cullen, there was nothing we could have done." Cassandra fumed as they exchanged some heated words. Cullen was angry. They waltzed right into the main mining operation of the Red Templars and they failed to get any evidence which would support Samson's whereabouts.

"I am sorry." Cullen finally said through a clenched jaw. He shouldn't have given in to the personal vendetta. But the knowledge that the scumbag was out there was almost unbearable. But now he got new reports which gravely described and, in some cases, depicted the terrible atrocities the Red Templars committed on themselves and the others. He had to stop it. _THEY_ had to stop it.

Cullen sighed and left the stack of the reports on the large table carved out of the tree stump which they used for their war planning. "These need approval from the Inquisitor and the bottom part is for you Leliana. I will need some of your men to investigate for me." Cullen finished his report and moved towards the door to leave.

"Where is the Inquisitor anyway?" He asked and tried to sound very casual about it. The truth was he barely saw her since their arrival. He saw her dismount from her mount then walk to the main hall. Since then he had not seen nor heard from her.

Cassandra replied with an annoyed growl. "I think she needs some time to sort out her priorities." She said, and Cullen could clearly recognize that Cassandra was on edge with suppressed fury.

"What happened?" He asked but dared not to step closer. Cassandra was known for needing lots of space around her when she was angry.

"How do I put this. I know we have chosen her to lead the Inquisition and to make the important decisions but…" She paused clearly searching for words which would convey her feelings but also keep at least a little bit of tact.

"But?" Cullen asked. He was now curious what could have happened to make Cassandra so livid and to doubt her own judgement. After all, appointing Lady Trevelyan as the Inquisitor was her idea and she stood firmly behind it even if the others questioned it at first.

"Well we came across a large fortress. It was overrun by the Red Templars who had some sort of experimental facility there…they tried to infect giants with the red lyrium." Cassandra continued this time more thoughtfully as she undoubtedly recalled the horrors of their missions.

 _Maker…corrupting giants. Will this madness never end?_

"In the end we have found out that the leader behind all this was a demon." Cassandra leaned against the table behind her and sighed. "I am not sure if I should tell you this. It is in my reports but perhaps you would like to hear it from the Inquisitor herself?"

"Maker's breath Cassandra! What happened?" Cullen couldn't keep his composure no longer. The fear of where this conversation was headed created a tight and heavy knot in his stomach. _No…she wouldn't do it._

Cassandra took in a breath through her nose and the disgust was apparent on her face. "The Inquisitor struck a deal with the demon. She let him go in exchange for wealth." She finished plainly and crossed her arms over her chest as if to add weight to her words.

Cullen was struck speechless. Of course, he knew that the Inquisitor was a mage but somehow, he never thought more deeply of it. After all it was only recently, he had started to realize that more deeply. He was proud of himself to a degree that he had left his old prejudices behind in Kirkwall and started with a fresh leaf in the Inquisition. And now this. Deals with demons that was something he couldn't let just slide.

"I see." Was all he had said before he turned around and strode out of the room. He could hear Leliana's voice behind him, but he couldn't make out the words through angry throbbing in his ears. _How could she?_

He could barely see where his feet were taking him. He pushed apart the door leading to her tower without a second thought and stomped his way up and barged in without knocking.

"Inquisitor!" Cullen fumed through clenched teeth as he stopped at the topmost stair and looked around the spacious room. He couldn't see her. At least not at first. It took him a moment to take in the surroundings and the pause he had to make to locate her at least partially calmed his anger.

The room was dark with only one candle lit on the desk overflown with papers. Letters, reports, books, rolled up scrolls, they seemed endless. Her bed was untouched safe for the travel cloak haphazardly tossed over the bottom half. The room was cold as ice. Since they did not know when she would return nobody kept the fire going in the fireplace and she did not bother with it either for some reason.

Finally, he spotted the door to the balcony open and her silhouette leaning against the stone banister and looking at the distant mountains, now only dark shadows against the night skies full of clouds. The snow covered her hair and shoulders and Cullen stopped to wonder just how long she had been standing there. _It mattered not. He had to talk with her_.

"Inquisitor." He repeated in a bit calmer tone, but she flinched and hunched her shoulders as if he yelled at her.

"I know what you will say, Commander."

Her voice sounded silent and completely broken. There was not a single trace of the usual resolution behind it. Nor the little spark he came to admire behind her every word. The spark which commander her troops to follow and ignited fires in all who believed in the Inquisition.

"Just tell me why." Was all he said while he stood behind her and leaned against the frame of the door with the tired sigh. Cullen wanted to be angry with her, but she did not make it easy for him. She didn't even fight back.

"What difference would it make? The choice is done." Was all she said as she let out a sigh, her breath condensed into a silvery puff and was take away by a gust of wind.

"I need to know…" Cullen paused and balled his hands into tight fists. "I need to know if you are like all the other mages. Just craving power, not shy to take offers from the demons." He finally said the words which pained him the most.

She slowly turned to face him, and he could see the lines on her cheeks where her tears were mercilessly whipped at by the freezing wind. Her eyes were red, and her lips were cracked and slightly blue.

"Alright." She said and hugged her arms around herself more tightly, she was shivering from head to toes.

"We fought through the fortress…there were countless templars, all transformed." She started recounting the story and Cullen felt his anger subside at the sound of her voice.

"I left Cole, Bull, Sera, Solas and Vivienne in one of the camps outside, we split up to be faster. They were to rescue the abducted villagers who were supposed be used as base for growing more of the red lyrium."

Cullen shivered. He had yet to read all the reports, but this was a new atrocity to pile on top of all the other atrocities the Red Templars with Samson in lead had committed so far. He studied her more closely as his eyes got more used to the darkness around.

She was still in her traveling clothes. Her robes where soaked from the snow and the bottom rim was frozen solid. Her left boot was torn, and she had hastily applied bandage on her right thigh. Cullen heard from Cassandra before that the fight with the Templars was vicious, but it was only now he truly realized what horrors the Inquisitor must have faced. _Again_.

"At any rate. I took Cassandra, Varric and Blackwall with me and we cleared the fortress. When we got to the giant's pens Varric got wounded. One of the giants rammed him against the wall." She sighed and continued. "By the end of our fight we were out of mana and healing potions. We were still standing but barely."

It seemed that the frustration finally overcame her since the Inquisitor threw her hands apart in a gesture of futility. "The demon was powerful. I could sense it from him. The others couldn't of course and wanted to fight but I knew that if we did, we wouldn't all make it out alive." She stopped and turned way from him once more and gripped the stone banister with her gloved hands.

"At any rate I had to make the difficult choice. Again." She added bitterly. "I made the deal and was left with a hefty sum. And no, it was not for my own pleasure or expenses. As Cassandra wanted to point out." She let out a dry laugh and slouched her shoulders. "I gave the money to the people of Sarnia, so they could rebuild and get the supplies since Blackwall saw it fitting in his righteous rage to kill the mayor who was the only one providing any resources."

Cullen stood as if petrified. That was certainly not what he had thought have happened when he barged into her room. He suddenly felt rather foolish.

"I am…I mean…" He took a tentative step forward, uncertain how to approach this.

"I know that Cassandra especially disapproves of that action but…I had to make a choice a choice which would have the best outcome. I don't have the luxury of always trampling through the bad guys with my sword." She said and slammed her hand against the cold stone.

"I am sorry. I should have known better than to jump to conclusions." Was all that Cullen could say in a defense of his suspicion. "If it makes you feel a bit better, I think that in the light of all you have said, you did the right choice." He added softly and found enough courage in his heart to reach out to her and gently touch her shoulder to try and make her turn around.

She did not resist, and Cullen felt embolden by this, the fact that she looked half frozen and so bitter and sad did not help either. He had been thinking of a similar moment for so long, probably from the moment since he had first spoken to her. It was now or never. If he did nothing someone would soon steal her for themselves and that was something he couldn't live with.

He took the last remaining step closer to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She did nothing to stop him only lowered her eyes shyly. Clearly being this close to someone was not something she was used to…well it was not something he was overly used to either. He kept one hand around her and with the other swiftly removed the fur cloak from his back and wrapped it around her, making sure she was well tucked in the warmth of it. Then without overthinking it and before he lost his nerves, he gently lifted her chin with two fingers and seeing her not resist, placed a gentle kiss on her cold lips.

He could hear the surprised breath hitch up in her throat, but she did not pull back. Her body was rigid at first but after a brief moment she yielded and kissed him back, as soft moan escaped her lips as she pressed herself closer to him. And Cullen's spirit soared.

There was no one to disturb them. He drew his arms around her possessively and regretted that the plate of his chest armor was in a way. He wanted to feel her body against his. He had no idea how long they kissed. She tasted and smelled wonderful. It reminded him of spring and sweets and he wanted to drown in her.

A gust of wind suddenly blew from the mountain side and slammed the windows open. She jolted in a surprise and the moment was gone. But that reminded Cullen of yet another thing he could do to savor this evening. He looked down on her and smiled. She looked breathless and despite the cold a pink color flushed her cheeks. He gently tugged a stray lock of her hair behind her ear and lingered with his fingers on the side of her neck.

"Cullen I…" She half whispered, and he had to stop himself from kissing her again. She was so lovely.

"I…I am sorry." He replied as he came back to his senses, now his usual embarrassed self slowly taking hold. "Are you alright?" He added.

She smiled at him and placed one gloved hand gently on his cheek. Cullen was relieved she was not mad. Quite the opposite it seemed.

"More than alright." She replied and shifted slightly in the spot, clearly uncertain what to do now.

It was then that Cullen remembered where they were. In the tower, in her room, at night. _Oh Maker…_

"Inquisitor." He stopped himself, they were past the formal titles he thought and so he leaned a bit closer as he tested her name on his lips for the first time. "Evelyn." He whispered and was rewarded with a gentle smile. She kept her hand on his cheek and he gently laid his own palm over hers.

"I never realized how beautiful your name sounds." He admitted in a half whisper.

She let out a soft laugh and cuddled closer to him again, clearly not minding his cold and hard armor. "I must admit that when you came to me tonight, I did not expect this outcome, Cullen." She replied, and he felt his heart warm up upon hearing her say his name.

"If you are still cold, I have a little surprise for you." Cullen continued as his mind finally regained enough capacity to think straight and he recalled all the evenings he toiled in Skyhold's cellars.

"Oh?" Evelyn looked up at him with one arched eyebrow and a small smile played on her lips.

"Take a gown and come with me." He urged her, and she swiftly obeyed now clearly intrigued by his promise of a surprise.

"Is it far?" She asked from the drawer where she kept her spare clothes and Cullen looked at his feet to give her privacy while she was going through her wardrobe.

"No, not really. Down the stairs actually." He motioned to the steps leading downstairs and in just a moment felt her hand hook around his own as she stood by his side, his fur cloak was still tightly draped over her shoulders, it seemed that she did not wish to part with it.

"Lead the way Commander." Evelyn urged him with a playful smile.

When they arrived into the bottom level of the Skyhold the corridors were silent, dark and empty. And Cullen was glad for that. He did not need interruptions or anyone nosing around. He led her through the path he knew so well by now, after all he had spent many hours toiling here, hauling stone and bricks back and forth and laying down pipes. At last they came to the locked door and Cullen was glad that he kept the key on him and didn't have to run to his office to get it.

He unlocked the door and lit up torches. Before them was a simple room with angular ceiling. It glowed in orange hue as the torchlight reflected from the polished stones. It was warm down here, Dagna's invention let out enough steam to warm up the adjoining rooms as well.

Evelyn stepped inside behind him and looked around. He could see a slight confusion on her face and so he motioned for her to follow him.

"I remembered how you struggled with the warm water in your quarters." Cullen started to explain just as he unlocked the second pair of doors which led to the bath itself. "Since you left for Emprise du Lion, I figured you could use something to warm you up when you returned."

He led her into the next room. This one was larger with higher ceiling. With the help of his friends he managed to create two pools in the middle. One was filled with cold water the other was empty, for now. Snowflakes swirled behind the window which provided view at the mountainside and means for ventilation. Over all he thought, the place looked cozy if he could praise himself.

"Cullen this is…it is wonderful." Evelyn exclaimed behind him and he had to smile when he saw her move around the room with a childlike enthusiasm from one corner to the next. She inspected every nook and ran her fingers over the stone walls, clearly impressed by his work. "How did you mange this?" She asked finally.

"Well I had help. Dagna and Harritt." Cullen ran his hand through the back of his hair, as was his custom when he felt too embarrassed. He was not used to so much praise. "I also happen to be adept with the tools." He added.

Evelyn nodded and stood at the edge of the empty pool. "Ah, you will like this, I am sure." Cullen noticed where she stood and moved to the far corner where Dagna's magical heater was tucked safely into the alcove of the wall. She showed him how to use it and in a moment the walls rumbled with the water being hauled through the pipes and into the pool. It steamed hot at first and Cullen fiddled with the controls until the temperature seemed alright.

"Now that is a surprise!" Evelyn exclaimed and leaned closer to the pool, already taking her gloved off and tentatively trying the water with her bare fingers. "By the Maker it is so warm!" She laughed in a delight and Cullen almost laughed with her.

"I am glad you like it." He replied happily. "I will leave you here, so you can take a good bath. I am sure that after all that cold you can use it." Cullen moved towards the door but was stopped by a hand on his elbow and he looked back over his shoulder.

Evelyn stood there at the edge of the pool and watched him with a slight apprehension. He noticed she had a habit of worrying her bottom lip with her teeth when she was nervous, and he wondered what this was all about.

"Don't go." She half whispered. Loud enough for the words to be heard over the splashing of the water.

Cullen froze. No…it couldn't have been what he thought. But what else? They were in the bath. Alone. At night after they just kissed a few moments ago. He turned to face her and looked her in the eyes. He found no foul play there, she looked at him shyly but the same determination he had seen there when she faced the many trials, was present now.

And so, he stayed. In fact, there was nothing which would move him from the bathhouse at that moment as he followed her towards the pool of warm water with the torches flickering around, painting the walls with their shadows as they conveyed their love for one another without words.


End file.
